Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Technical Help and How To's Windows Messenger glitch

I've installed WM and everything works fine. Except my status choices. Whenever I click on 'busy' or 'away' or 'offline' etc, it never stays that way. I'll be working away and glance at the icon and it will have reverted back to 'online'.

Which means that I have to switch it off if I'm away from the pc or too busy to chat and then, of course, when I could be chatting I forget to switch it back on!

Has anyone else had this problem? Know how to fix it?

Thanks!

LabRat

Hey, LabRat, which version did you install?

Also, when it goes back to online, is the window still open (not minimized)?

I'll see if I can find anything online.

malu

OK, a few more questions.

-> Which version of Windows are you using (XP, Vista, ...)?
-> Did you set the program to sign in automatically when you connect to the Internet?

I'm assuming you are not using dial-up.

I'll add more if I find anything.

malu

One last question: do you have Messenger Plus! installed also?

malu

Hey, Malu. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to try and fix this one for me.

Questions:

1. When I said install - it's just what came with Windows when that was installed. Plain WM, far as I can tell.

2. When the status changes the program is always minimized. When it's online the little icon on the taskbar is green and when it's busy or offline or out to lunch or whatever it turns orange. I glance at the icon and suddenly it's gone back to green, so I right-click to get the options and, bingo, it's gone back to online.

3. Windows XP

4. Yes, it's set to sign in automatically when I switch on my pc

5. No dial-up - broadband.

6. Doesn't seem to have Messenger Plus installed that I can see. If it's an extra, an add-on, then probably not because I haven't done anything to this - just set up an account from what was there when Windows was installed.

Thanks again!

LabRat

I was asking all these questions because of things that I've seen online.

I don't personally use WM, but it may be possible that your messenger is logging out by itself and then logging it automatically, and if you have the option of logging in with "Online" status, that's what may be happening.

If you can find the version of the WM you have (maybe under "Help"?), and if it is not the newest version (I think right now it's 8.5?), that may be a problem with connection. Try seeing if you can check for an update.

If it is the newest version, check if on the login screen there is an option to login as "Online", or "Offline", or "Busy" (or something else), and choose something else besides "Online", and see if it still changes to "Online".

Let me know if anything changes.

malu

Maybe this link might help.

Try following the instructions on the post.

malu

I think logging in with offline/busy status will help. Or turn off the automatic sign in. Or both.

The problem might be the program itself. I've always used MSN instead of WM. It's basically the same, but with more options (games! ) Whenever I had to use WM, it did stuff it shouldn't. And I had the hardest time getting rid of the program. So my suggestion would be to download MSN... Most likely, all issues you have with WM now will be over then.

Saskia

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Hopefully one of them will do the trick.

LabRat

I have a question, Saskia.

Didn't MSN Messenger become Windows Live Messenger, or are they totally different programs?

EDIT: Found this from Wikipedia .

EDIT 2: LabRat, were you talking about this messenger, instead of WLM? Hm, I was assuming it was WLM.

EDIT 3: You might want to take a look at this page and see if the reply helps you. I don't know if it is the same problem you have (the question posted seems confusing), but it's worth a shot.

EDIT 4: OK, last edit, I promise. Found this post that describes the same problem as you. They suggest installing the MSN/WL Messenger.

malu

Yup, that's the one, Malu. I'll check those solutions out - thanks for all the help! The second one sounds as though it might, indeed, be the solution. Will give it a go, anyway.

LabRat

Oh, and since Windows Messenger and MSN/Windows Live Messenger are different programs, if you don't want to have both open at the same time (if you install the WLM), you might need to remove the one you currently have on your computer (WM).

There are many pages out there that describe how to remove it completely from Windows (including from the Registry). If you need help removing it, just let me know.

malu

Thanks, Malu. WLV seems to have overridden WM - at least only one thing comes up when I boot up the pc.

WLM did solve the status issue, thanks. My only issue now is that I keep losing my connection. But WLV automatically reconnects immediately and it only takes a few seconds for it to restore, so I guess it's not a huge problem.

I wondered if maybe it was down to some setting that needs adjusted, but I can't find anything on the control panel. Ah, well...I can live with it.

LabRat

Glad that WLM helped somehow.

Just a few things to consider about the intermittent connection:

Do your contacts see you as logging off and on constantly (they receive the "offline" and "online" messages all the time)?

Do you know if it's only WLM that is disconnecting, or if you lose connection with any other software (video/music streaming, etc.)?

Some articles about WLM, connectivity and Windows Messenger (the old one) that I found:

(Also see the related articles on bottom)

Why does one contact keep signing in over and over to MSN Messenger?

Why does my network connection drop every so often?

How do I uninstall Windows Messenger?

I can't say for sure that any of these suggestions will work, but I hope you find a solution for it.

Good luck!

malu

If you're still having trouble, you can use a third party program to connect to the WLM service. For example, Trillian is a combined IM service which lets you connect simultaneously to AIM, Yahoo, WLM, and several other services. It's even got an IRC interface (which is kind of strange because it's in Trillian's universal IM format).

In my personal experience, it seems to have more tolerance for fluctuating connections than WLM. And it's nice to have my buddy lists and such consolidated.

Downside is that it doesn't always work with some of the more advanced features, such as file transfer and video conferencing. It's supposed to. Sometimes it does. But the fact that you're using a different program adds an extra layer of finickinesses (which... huh... is a word. But with an i instead of the y I tried to use).

Still, if you're having issues with WLM, it might be worth a shot. Oh, and it doesn't have any ads. They get their money from registered users. There's no nagging to register, but registration gives you access to extended features (plugins, paid support, additional messaging services, etc).

Sorry I missed these further answers till now. Thanks for the info and advice.

I think I've figured out what's causing the breaks in connection. When I leave my pc for a time, it powers down into a 'sleep mode'. When I come back, I have to jiggle the mouse to bring it back to life and then click on the 'administrator' tag to get back to my desktop and open programs.

I have Thunderbird set to download email automatically at regular intervals. But I've noticed that when I return to my pc after a break of a few hours, no new mail has downloaded in my absence. I click on get mail and it all downloads. I never come back to the pc to find mail already downloaded and waiting for me.

At the same time, I've noted that when I come back to the pc is always when the WLM connection has broken and that it's already logging in again.

I don't think this is co-incidence. I think the sleep mode of the pc is breaking the connection in both programmes.

Which means - I think - that so long as I'm active on the pc - i.e. chatting - the connection will probably be stable.

Sadly, I have to admit that this is only theory because since I set up WLM I haven't actually been at the pc at any time of day when I'm likely to be able to chat to anyone!

LabRat

I just saw this topic and thought I would just drop a line and say that my WM keeps disconnecting me when I'm in the middle of typing. It does it about everytime I get on and I keep having to reconnect.

Do you use the Windows Messenger (that came with Windows) or the Windows *Live* Messenger, which was called MSN Messenger before?

LabRat, do you want to keep the "sleep mode" (which I think is actually the standby mode), or would you be okay with the computer staying on all the time? You could set your computer with a screen saver instead of the standby mode, so that your screen is not always on, but you don't get disconnected from the Internet.

Let me know, and I can try to help turning the standby mode off.

UPDATE: Unless what puts your computer into "sleep mode" *is* the screen saver. It could be that the computer is putting your network card into "sleep mode" to save power. There's an option in your network card properties where you can turn this feature off. If you go to your Network Connections, choose the network you are using and right click->"Properties". By the device, there should be a button with "Configure...". Click on it. Go to the "Power Management" tab and make sure the box with "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

malu

Thanks, Malu. No, I quite like the sleep (standby) mode, so I'm happy enough. I don't have a screensaver - I got out of the habit of using one with my last pc because it would kick in sometimes but not others and was completely unreliable. So I got into the habit of just switching off the monitor when I left the pc.

LabRat